Based in Berkeley, California, Love and Cooking offers Charlotte's home recipes, experiences feeding the multitudes, restaurant reviews, and other food-related musings. The title is from a "Rules for Life" item often attributed to H.H. the Dalai Lama: "Approach love and cooking with great abandon".
Lately I am also heeding the wise words of my friend Serene: "Food isn't love. Feeding people is love."

Saturday, October 30, 2004

How to Eat A Tim Tam

What is a Tim Tam? You might very well ask, especially if you don't run with Australians or New Zealanders.

A Tim Tam is a delicious cookie ("biccie" in Oz slang) made by Arnott's of Australia that is chocolate, or some other, cream between two chocolate wafer layers, all covered with milk or dark chocolate. There are some variations - Tia Maria filling, double coating, and the like.

But the true genius of the Tim Tam is its ability to be used as a delicious if somewhat limited use straw. This practice is known throughout Australia as the "Tim Tam Slam". I was lucky enough to get both some Tim Tams and some instruction from an Aussie at a recent social outing, so as a public service towards better International Understanding, I would like to present a pictoral guide towards enjoyment of this fine biscuit, which deserves to be far more widely known in this country.

If you do not have a merchant of Australian products nearby, or an Aussie friend to bring you some, the nice people at Aussie Products in San Jose, California, would be happy to mail order some to you without Customs hassles. They're on the "Arnott's Sweet Biscuits" page. (Try the Kahlua Slice, too, they're very good.)

2. Take the Tim Tam and daintily nibble off two opposite corners of the rectangle.

Before:After:

3. Holding the Tim Tam firmly with your thumb and forefinger, place one of the nibbled-off corners in your mouth. Alex, the Aussie, gets ready here:

4. Submerge the other nibbled-off corner in your drink and suck for all you're worth.

5. When you get the liquid "hit" off the Tim Tam, pop the biccie in your mouth, and eat it. Do not be tempted to keep sucking, as the wafer will disintegrate into Tim Tam Sludge very shortly. It's much better if you can actually eat it.

Here are photos of me (laughing myself silly as I was being exhorted by the entire table ... you can guess how) and some pals enjoying the Tim Tam Slam at a recent dinner:

Great photos! I think Tim Tam slamming (or zooming as it is sometimes known) is also commonly conducted with some sort of hot chocolate drink... eg. Milo, Ovaltine (which I favour) as well. I'd say your common or garden drinking cocoa+hot milk would work well.

The nibbled off bits should be kept small as the suck is more powerful then ;) Also, refrigerating the Tim Tams prior to use allows longer sucking, and more thoroughly soaked biscuit without the fear of the chocolate coating disintegrating.

Double coat is definitely the best...I'm an Aussie with a pack a week fetish (11 Timtams a week)!! Another beverage to suck it through is port. The alcohol combines with the chocolate cream and you have uber delight!

My personal favourite is the caramel tim tam. Following the above instructions nibble both ends of the tim tam and slurp up your tea but when placed in the mouth, instead of merely wolfing down the chocolatly goodness, squash the biscuit against the roof of your mouth with your tongue. A truely orgasmic experience!!! Thankyou Australia.

I live in Australia and believe that the Tim Tam actually has two layers of a thin chocolate biscuit rather than wafer. However, Arnotts Gaiety does have wafer. I find that Tim Tams are more popular. Tim Tam balls are also a great nibble-they're just Tim Tams, but much smaller and are shaped as spheres. I love original Tim Tams.

Yes, as an aussie, I have always thought the drink to have timtams with (as a straw) is Port (although i cant stand the stuff myself). I have never seen anyone use coffee/tea - its not ALL that common I guess.

And on the note of using a hot chocolate drink (my beverage of choice) I would advise against it. Eating real chocloate (ie on the biscuit) with chocolate milk of any sort makes it taste like plain milk. Just a little trick of our tastebuds. Always drink the chocolate drink before eating choclate.....

I am an american who spent a month in Australia and fell in love with Tim Tams! Since I got back I have been searching for Tim Tams in the US and I finally found them at Cost Plus World Market! So now you don't have to order them all the way from Australia any more!

Not ever having tried a 'Penguin' but having quite a few Irish mates, they seem to reckon that they are pretty similar - (yhough there is still a lot of debate as to whether the red pengiuns are better than the blue - don't know how colur really matters as it's just the wrapper but hey - there you go ...

The caramel tim tams are the go for me,nibble both ends off,& suck a hot cup of tea through it,mmmmmm.Nothing better(sex aside) of an afternoon with a new car/bike magazine to read with them.We actually refer to them as straws.

Im from England i was in Australia 3 years ago, i went through packets of tim tams, i loved them!! comparing pengins to tim tams is rather insulting as tim tams are MUCH more nicer!! I have only found tim tams once and that was in tesco havent seen them for ages.I miss tim tams!!!!!

Great photos! I think Tim Tam slamming (or zooming as it is sometimes known) is also commonly conducted with some sort of hot chocolate drink... eg. Milo, Ovaltine (which I favour) as well. I'd say your common or garden drinking cocoa+hot milk would work well.NFL Jerseystn chaussureschaussures pumaTn Requin